Club Dispute Murderer Sentenced To 50 Years Incarceration

For Immediate Release8/3/2017

East Baltimore— Adam Curtis was sentenced to 50 years incarceration for the second degree murder of Antonio Washington, using a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a regulated firearm.

Assistant State’s Attorney Rita Wisthoff-Ito prosecuted the case.

On April 17, 2016, at approximately 2:21 a.m., officers responded to the 600 block of North Duncan Street on a report of a shooting. The call initially went out as a signal 13—which is a code used to indicate that a police officer has been shot— because the 911 caller reported the victim to be an off-duty Baltimore Police officer who had been shot in the head.

The victim, Washington, turned out to be an off-duty security guard. Upon officers’ arrival, they found the victim suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head, lying face down on the ground next to his vehicle with the front driver’s side door open. The victim was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 2:54 a.m.

The crime scene was secured, and one .45 caliber shell casing was located at the scene. An autopsy was conducted on the victim by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), and the manner of death was ruled a homicide. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Investigators discovered Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras that covered the parking lot where the victim’s body was found. The footage showed the victim walking through the parking lot and approach his car. At one point, the victim spoke with the suspect on the other side of the victim’s SUV before returning to his vehicle and opening the front driver’s side door. As the victim was opening the door to get into his truck, the suspect walked back to his own vehicle—which was parked on the street— to retrieve an object, then walked up behind the victim.

The CCTV camera records the parking lot area in a circular pattern. The footage captures Curtis just as he walks up immediately behind the victim and pulls out an object that looks like a gun from his waist. When the camera rotates back to the scene, Curtis is filmed bending over the victim who is on the ground.

According to witnesses, a confrontation between Washington and Curtis originated at a club where Washington worked. Witnesses saw the two men arguing in the parking lot, reported hearing gunshots, and saw Curtis leaving the scene.

Adam Curtis was arrested on July 27, 2016. Curtis was shown a photo that was downloaded from the video footage inside the nightclub and identified himself in the photo.

“This sort of brazen callousness over a petty dispute can not be tolerated any longer in our city and thanks to the cooperation of the witnesses in this case, it won't be." Said State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

In spite of the record number of homicides, the Victim/Witness Unit within the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City continues to provide services and resources to homicide survivors, as well as witnesses.